STANFORD, Calif. — On Nov. 18, the Stanford Blood Center collected a record 234 units of blood—the most ever collected by the center at a single blood drive—during the annual “Rivals for Life” blood drive competition against UC-Berkeley.

Stanford bested the 171 units collected on Cal’s campus by the American Red Cross and UC-San Francisco. For the past several years, each university has held blood drives on their respective campuses leading up to the “Big Game” when Stanford and Cal compete on the football field. This year’s game takes place Nov. 22 at Cal.

Stanford’s BeWell program helped push the blood drive’s success by promoting the event on its Web site, sending postcards to all staff, putting up road signs on campus and arranging for the drive to take place on the highly visible basketball courts at the Arrillaga Center for Sports and Recreation. “BeWell is about improving the culture of wellness at Stanford, and this blood drive is a prime example of groups coming together in a collaborative effort to achieve great results,” said Eric Stein, senior associate athletic director for physical education, recreation and wellness.

“Stanford students love any opportunity to beat Cal at something,” said Elisa Manzanares, blood drive coordinator for the blood center. “It was a way for students to show support for their local community, for Stanford and to beat Cal. It was a triple threat.” Manzanares also credits resident assistants and the Big Game week student committee for the large numbers of students who turned out for the blood drive propelled by e-mail campaigns.

BeWell and the blood center are already looking forward to next year’s “Rivals for Life” blood drive. “It was a great first effort for BeWell. We’ll continue to grow from here,” said Stein. Manzanares hopes to increase staff and alumni participation next year because this year’s donors were predominantly students.

With the holidays approaching, the blood center is encouraging people to donate as soon as possible. Donors can call (650) 723-7831 or toll-free (888) 723-7831 to make an appointment and get directions. Donors should be in good health with no cold or flu symptoms. They must eat well prior to donation, drink fluids and present photo identification at the time of donation. The process takes about an hour.

Stanford University Medical Center integrates research, medical education and patient care at its three institutions — Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford. For more information, please visit the Web site of the medical center’s Office of Communication & Public Affairs at http://mednews.stanford.edu.

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